Serge Rachmaninoff
Sergey Rachmaninov was the last, great representative of the Russian Romantic tradition as a composer, but was also a widely and highly celebrated pianist of his time. His piano concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and his preludes famously test pianists' skills. His Symphony No. 2, the tone poem Isle of the Dead, and his Cello Sonata are also notable. The passionate melodies and rich harmonies of his music have been called the perfect accompaniment for love scenes, but in a greater sense they explore a range of emotions with intense and compelling expression.
Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, born in Semyonovo, Russia, on April 1, 1873, came from a music-loving, land-owning family; young Sergey's mother fostered the boy's innate talent by giving him his first piano lessons. After a decline in the family fortunes, the Rachmaninovs moved to St. Petersburg, where Sergey studied with Vladimir Delyansky at the Conservatory. As his star continued to rise, Sergey went to the Moscow Conservatory, where he received a sound musical training: piano lessons from the strict disciplinarian Nikolay Zverev and Alexander Siloti (Rachmaninov's cousin), counterpoint with Taneyev, and harmony with Arensky. During his time at the Conservatory, Rachmaninov boarded with Zverev, whose weekly musical Sundays provided the young musician the valuable opportunity to make important contacts and to hear a wide variety of music.
As Rachmaninov's conservatory studies continued, his burgeoning talent came into full flower; he received the personal encouragement of Tchaikovsky, and, a year after earning a degree in piano, took the Conservatory's gold medal in composition for his opera Aleko (1892). Early setbacks in his compositional career -- particularly, the dismal reception of his Symphony No. 1 (1895) -- led to an extended period of depression and self-doubt, which he overcame with the aid of hypnosis. With the resounding success of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900-1901), however, his lasting fame as a composer was assured. The first decade of the 20th century proved a productive and happy one for Rachmaninov, who during that time produced such masterpieces as the Symphony No. 2 (1907), the tone poem Isle of the Dead (1907), and the Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909). On May 12, 1902, the composer married his cousin, Natalya Satina.
By the end of the decade, Rachmaninov had embarked on his first American tour, which cemented his fame and popularity in the United States. He continued to make his home in Russia but left permanently following the Revolution in 1917; he thereafter lived in Switzerland and the United States between extensive European and American tours. While his tours included conducting engagements (he was twice offered, and twice refused, leadership of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), it was his astounding pianistic abilities which won him his greatest glory. Rachmaninov was possessed of a keyboard technique marked by precision, clarity, and a singular legato sense. Indeed, the pianist's hands became the stuff of legend. He had an enormous span -- he could, with his left hand, play the chord C-E flat-G-C-G -- and his playing had a characteristic power, which pianists have described as "cosmic" and "overwhelming." He is, for example, credited with the uncanny ability to discern, and articulate profound, mysterious movements in a musical composition which usually remain undetected by the superficial perception of rhythmic structures.
Fortunately for posterity, Rachmaninov recorded much of his own music, including the four piano concerti and what is perhaps his most beloved work, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). He became an American citizen a few weeks before his death in Beverly Hills, CA, on March 28, 1943.
© Michael Rodman, Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Chopin: Piano Works
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on May 21, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff, Los Grandes de la Música Clásica
Orquesta Lírica de Barcelona, Ida Czernicka
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on Sep 23, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 4
Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Drenikov & Jean-Pierre Wallez
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC. on Sep 29, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Relaxing Classical Rachmaninoff: Soothing Classical Music For Calm and Relaxation
Serge Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Superlative Classical Records on Jan 17, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Sergei: Concerto N. 3, in D Minor, Op. 30, Recorded 1939 – 1940
Classical - Released by World Classical Music Digital on Jun 23, 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
2017杭州爱乐樂團-樂季音樂會(二)
Classical - Released by Classical Music on Jan 21, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov, Obras para piano
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on Oct 21, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janus
Classical - Released by Blue Griffin Recording on May 5, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brindis por la Música
Mónica Cosachov, Tomás Tichauer
Chamber Music - Released by Irco Video on Sep 30, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos del Milenio, Conciertos para Piano, Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by Piros - Send on Apr 13, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff & Schumann: Piano Concertos
Classical - Released by Tuxedo Music on Apr 18, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Rachmaninov Volume 2: Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov
Serge Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Superlative Classical Records on Jan 17, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Music of Rachmaninov: Great Performances by Sergei Rachmaninov
Serge Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Superlative Classical Records on Jan 17, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rikke Sandberg - Rachmaninoff & Liszt: Piano Concertos No. 2
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on May 13, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barcarolle
Classical - Released by YUKI NIITSUMA on Jun 22, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: 10 Preludes, Op.23 No.5 in G Minor Alla marcia (2024 Remaster)
Classical - Released by Pastel Records Canada on May 10, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Till rosorna
Mats Rondin, Staffan Scheja, Mats Bergstrom, Serge Rachmaninoff, Wilhelm Peterson-berger, Gabriel Fauré
Chamber Music - Released by Daphne Records on Jan 24, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janos Solyom plays Rachmaninoff
Janos Solyom, Serge Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by Caprice on Nov 17, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Etude Tableaux No. 5 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 39 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Oct 28, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Fantasy in E Major, Op. 7 "The Cliff" (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Dec 9, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 39 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Dec 9, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo